Lock for fruit-jar covers



(No Model.)

G. E. PURPLE. LOCK FOR FRUIT JAR GOVERS.

Patented Aug. 27, 1895.

UN lTED STATES PATENT Erica.

GEORGE ED'WARD PURPLE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LOCK FOR FRUIT-JAR COVERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 545,171, dated August 27, 1 895.

Application filed January 30 .1895- Serlal N0. 5 36,653. (No modehl To :LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE EDWARD Pun- PLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Lock for Fruit -Jar Covers; and 1 do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved looking or clamping device for securing the covers or caps of jars, cans, and other vessels of an analogous character, but is more especially intended for use on fruit-jar covers, and has for its object notonly to provide a locking device, but also to combine therewith a feature for lifting the cover after the lockingpressure is relaxed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a jar, showing the cover in a locked position; Fig. 2, a broken-away front elevation; Fig. 3, a broken-away side elevation showing the locking-clamp disengaged; Fig. 4, a broken-away elevation showing the clampinglever in position to lift the cover; Fig. 5, a broken-away vertical section on line 5, Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow; and Fig. 6, a plan of a holding-band.

A may represent a jar; B, the cover; C, a clam ping-lever; D, a looking or clamping bail, and E a band formed from a straight flat strip of metal and adapted for encircling the neck of the jar. The holding-band E is provided in one end with an aperture a, the other end terminating in a tongue at, which is adapted to engage with the apertured end and interlock in securing the band to the vessel, the tongue end being bent over upon itself after it has been passed through the aperture, as shown in Fig. 2. The holding-band is apertured, as at 0. the material being pressed out around this aperture and swaged back, as at a to engage with the correspondingly-apertured cam end a of the clamping-lever C, so as to retain the same in its working position and also form a pivotal bearing therefor.

The'clamping-lever is provided back of its pivot-bearing with a round aperture b, in which is inserted the longest and lowermost end of the locking-bail, the opposite end of which engages with an aperture (1 in the hold ing-band. The relative position of the respective ends of the bail is illustrated in Fig. 2. The lever thus turns in a plane which is tangential to the circumferential boundary of the jar. The lever is preferably flat and of such form as to lie close against the body of the jar when turned down, as in Figs. 1 and 2. The edge of the cam-surface on the lever ongages the" overhang of the cover when the lever is turned so to do.

The bail extends across the top of the cover, and when the lever is turned down to the position shown in Fig. 1 the cover is set down tight, the lever passing the center, and thus remains fixed. By turning the lever upwardly, as indicated in Fig. 3,the bail maybe disengaged from the cover. The lever may then be turned down again and upwardly in the opposite direction, as indicated in Fig. 4:, which will bring the cam end in contact with the under side of the overhanging edge cl of the cover and lift the same so that it may be conveniently removed, the means for raising or lowering the cover being as important as that of clamping it in a closed position.

The lug g, formed on one edge of the clamping-lever, catches the bail when the lever is thrown up to the position shown in Fig. 3 and prevents that end of the bail from slipping out of its aperture in the lever, as it is simply sprung into place. This lug may also be used to swing the bail as the lever is swung in one direction.

The stop 9', formed on the cam end of the lever, comes in contact with the bail at one side, Fig. 1, and limits the movement of said lever when being thrown into a locking position.

A packing ring or gasket h is inserted between the cover and bearingsurface of the Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a jar and its cover, of a clamping-lever, provided with a cam-end and adapted to engage with and lift said cover when the pressure of the locking-device is re laxed, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a jar, of a cover, having an overhanging edge, of a clamping lever, provided with a cam-end and adapted to engage with the overhanging edge and lift said ooverwhen the clamping-bail is disengaged, substantially as described.

3. The locking device for fruit jar covers, consisting essentially of a fiat metallic band surrounding the neck of the jar and having a tongue on one end passed and looked through a hole in the other end of said band, the material of the band at one side being swaged out to form a pivot bearing as described, a cam lever pivoted on said bearing, and a Wire bail having one end passed through a round aperture in the cam lever at one side of the lever pivot, the other end of the bail passing through an opening in the baud, all combined substantially as described.

4. The locking device for jar covers, consisting essentially of a band surrounding the neck of a jar, a pivot or pintle extending outwardly from this band, a lever journaled to said pintle to swing in a plane tangent to the circumference of the jar, and a bail attached at one end to the band at one side of thejar,

and pivoted at its other end to the lever at a fixed distance from the pivot of the lever, said lever having a projection to engage the bail, all combined substantially as described.

5. The locking and unlocking device for jar covers, consisting essentially of a band surrounding the jar neck, a lever pivotally connected to said band to swing in a plane tangent to the cireum terence of thejar, said lever having a cam surface at its edge extending upward to engage the overhang of the cover when properly moved, and the bail connected to the said band at one side of the jar and to the lever at the opposite side of the jar, whereby the overhanging jar cover may be either locked or lifted by the proper movement of the lever, all combined substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE EDlVARD PURPLE.

Witnesses:

L. M. FREEMAN, L. B. COUPLAND. 

